Why Paraben Free?

Two recent reports raise-disturbing questions about the safety of commonly used cosmetic preservatives. They also make very clear why smart consumers are seeking safe and natural preservative systems. The first report—a recent study from the journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology—raises disturbing questions about the safety of a group of commonly used cosmetic preservatives known as parabens. Consumers who check labels will see parabens listed on a wide range of cosmetic and personal care products.

Leave-on products such as facial makeup and skin lotions are of greatest concern because of the long exposure time and opportunity for migration via the skin into the bloodstream. The recently discovered estrogenic effects of certain synthetic chemicals, such as the parabens, and their subsequent effects on the endocrine system of humans and wildlife, is of growing concern—especially in relation to women's risk of breast cancer. Reproductive abnormalities in young boys exposed to such chemicals either prior to puberty or as fetuses also may increase risk for undescended testicles, testicular cancer, sperm abnormalities and prostate disorders. Meanwhile, Thomas Connor, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental sciences at the University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health, claims in a preliminary report in Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis that the preservatives methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone have mutagenic and cancer-causing properties and should be carefully evaluated for safety.